CNS PHOTO/JAMAL SAIDI REUTERS

A man holds a poster showing an image of Lebanese Capuchin Father Jacques Haddad as thousands gather for the priest’s beatification in downtown Beirut. Blessed Haddad was born in 1875 in Ghazir, a Christian village north of Beirut. He opened hundreds of Capuchin schools in Lebanon, started the Third Order Franciscans for laypeople in the country and founded the order of the Franciscan Sisters of the Cross.

Newly beatified Lebanese monk has ties to Cincinnati

By Eileen Connelly, OSU

ARCHDIOCESE — Tens of thousands of Lebanese witnessed the beatification ceremony of their beloved Capuchin Father Jacques Haddad in Martyrs’ Square in central Beirut on June 22.

On hand for the ceremony was Anna Maria Chemaly, a great-niece of Blessed Haddad, who traveled from Cincinnati to Lebanon with her three children a few days before the ceremony. Chemaly said it was exciting to return to her homeland and see posters and banners of her uncle across the country.

CNS PHOTO/MOHAMED AZAKIR, REUTERS

Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, left, celebrated the beatification Mass for Lebanese Capuchin Father Jacques Haddad in downtown Beirut June 22.

"It was quite an honor to be part of the celebration," Chemaly said. "The beatification is good for Christians in general and especially for the Maronites. This will bring Christians together. It reinforces our faith and our strength."

From the time she was a small child Chemaly said she was told "we have a saint in the family. We had pictures of him in all our homes. We always knew his beatification would happen."

Her parents were well acquainted with the cleric. As a newly married couple not yet financially established, they went to see him, hoping he could assist them in some way. He excused himself, saying, "Wait a minute," Chemaly explained. When he returned, he placed a rosary in her mother’s hand and offered the following advice: "Pray the rosary and you will get what you need."

Chemaly inherited the black wooden rosary beads, a gift from her mother when she married 14 years ago.

Prayer was a central to Blessed Haddad’s life, she said. "Everything he needed, he prayed for. That’s how he was able to accomplish so much, to establish and build hospitals, schools and orphanages, while also helping Lebanon’s most needy."

Blessed Haddad carried a rosary given to him by his sister who was a nun, said Msgr. Bazm and he prayed it so often that the beads were worn. Msgr. Baz now has the rosary in his possession, a powerful reminder of his great-uncle’s unwavering faith.

Like Chemaly, he was raised hearing stories of that great faith. As a baby, his mother took him to visit Blessed Haddad, who advised her to take special care of her son, as he was going to be different. Msgr. Baz believes this was the cleric’s way of foretelling his vocation to the priesthood, especially in light of the fact that he was named a monsignor on June 22, 1999, a date that coincides with the beatification.

In his homily, Cardinal Nasrallah P. Sfeir, patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church, spoke of the significance of the occasion.

"The hope of many Lebanese was realized today. That hope was the raising of Father Yaccoub’s (his Arabic name) portrait above the altar of the Catholic Church."

He noted how Blessed Haddad "passed through the narrow door leading to sainthood," attributing the priest’s ability to walk "the most difficult road of a saintly life to three virtuous practices: surrender to the will of God, Christian modesty and the work mercy."

Father Yaacoub would say that ‘all God has given me belongs to Him and the poor of Lebanon,’" the cardinal said. "He built hospitals, schools and took care of the sick, but was a man of simple means. Father Yaacoub put his trust in the grace of God."

Chemaly said that Blessed Haddad’s beatification provided the opportunity to learn things about her uncle she didn’t previously know. "I realized how much he loved teaching and kids. He loved doing First Communion and really got involved with that. He also wrote liturgical music. He was a man of many talents."

The priest’s faith, kindness and humility have been an example to her family and Chemaly is now sharing his life with friends, giving them holy cards with his picture and a prayer. "He had such a kind heart and wanted to take care of people during his time on earth," she said. "Now he is someone we can pray to and come to in our times of need."